Health authorities are banning a harmful ingredient found in soft drinks, candy and other popular snacks.
The FDA said Tuesday it will ban the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO), a bromine-containing additive found in fire retardants.
In the United States, small amounts of BVO are allowed in some citrus-flavored beverages to help distribute the flavors evenly. Sun Drop, made by Keurig Dr Pepper, is one of the most famous examples still using BVO.
The FDA said it had concluded that BVO was unsafe for use after results of studies it conducted in collaboration with the NIH found it could cause adverse effects in humans.
The ruling will take effect on August 2 and will give manufacturers one year to change their recipes or face repercussions.
Walmart’s Sun Drop, Mountain Lightning and regional grocery store Food Lion’s beverages all contain brominated vegetable oil, which the FDA has now banned.
Brominated vegetable oil is used in beverages, including some Sun Drop sodas.
The decision comes after the FDA first proposed reversing the regulation in November last year after research linked it to headaches, memory loss, impaired balance and thyroid problems.
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, BVO was banned in the UK in 1970, followed by India in 1990, the EU in 2008 and Japan in 2010.
In 1970, the FDA concluded that it was not generally recognized as safe for use in foods due to concerns about its toxicity. After this, the agency began regulating BVO as a food additive, while also conducting safety studies.
Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors, said, “The new FDA regulation not allowing BVO as a food additive is a major positive step in the right direction.”
Under FDA rules, whenever a company used an ingredient in a product, it was required to list it on the label.
Over time, many beverage manufacturers have replaced BVO with an alternative ingredient, according to the FDA. “Today, few beverages in the U.S. contain BVO,” it said.
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have removed BVO from their beverages such as Gatorade and Fanta, respectively.
‘Sun Drop, made by Keurig Dr Pepper, still uses BVO… This is probably the largest national brand still using it,’ said Arun Sundaram of CFRA Research.
Sun Drop comes in a mix of lemon, lime and sweet orange flavours, all of which contain BVO.
However, the company said last year that it planned to remove BVO from its ingredient list.
“We have been actively reformulating Sun Drop to no longer include this ingredient and will continue to comply with all state and national regulations,” a spokesperson said.
The citrus flavour also contains yellow 5, which has been banned in countries such as the UK because it contains benzidine, a human and animal carcinogen permitted in low doses.
According to the FDA, ingestion of free benzidine raises the risk of cancer to just below the threshold of “concern,” or one cancer per million people.
On a scale of one to ten, with 10 being the worst, consumer advocacy group Environmental Working Group (EWG) rates Sun Drop a 10 due to its use of BVO, Yellow 5, and the additive sodium benzoate.
BVO has also been found in Faygo, a Detroit-based brand that sells more than 50 flavors of soda in stores across the country. The brand’s Moon Mist flavor scores a nine on EWG’s scale because it contains BVO, potassium benzoate and the artificial sweetener sucralose.
However, BVO is most commonly found in regional and store brands.
Keurig Dr Pepper did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.